Part 1 Chapter 4 Summary

In Chapter 4, the narrator introduces the Pondicherry Zoo. Pondicherry is the territory in India where Piscine grew up. Once Pondicherry became a territory of India in 1954, the Pondicherry Botanical Gardens became a zoo founded by Piscine's father, Mr. Santosh Patel. Mr. Patel had been a hotelkeeper and thought that the transition to zookeeping would be natural. The zoo became a source of a little enjoyment and many headaches.

To Piscine, the zoo was heaven on earth. He loved growing up in and around the zoo. His life was surrounded by animals. He awoke to the roar of lions as his morning alarm and enjoyed his meals with the sounds of monkeys and exotic birds. On his way to school, he would walk past the habitations of various other exotic animals.

Piscine then discussed the "nonsense" that animals are not happy living...